Games 121-123 Red Sox Lose 2 of 3 to Yankees – 58 runs score!!!

Friday August 21

Brad Penny gets rocked again and is sent to the bullpen after this game. Penny allowed 8R on 10H in only 4IP. He is a one-man bullpen wrecking crew! Michael Bowden called up from AAA was also hit hard – 7R on 8H in 2IP. To the Red Sox credit there is no quit in them. They were down 12-1 in the 5th inning and scored 3 runs off Andy Pettitte in both the 5th and the 6th innings along with 4 in the 9th off Mitre. Matsui had two home runs and 7 RBIs for New York. The game was a slug-fest.

Final Score: New York 20 Boston 11
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 4, 2R, 2 RBIs and a SB # 54 to tie Tommy Harper’s club record

Saturday August 22

Red Sox turn the tables and manage to score 9R on 9H off Yankee starter, AJ Burnett. Meanwhile Sox rookie, Junichi Tazawa, in only his third ML appearance shut out the Yankees on 8H with 6IP. New York was 0 for 9 with RISP with a team LOB of 13. It was a very gutsy performance from Tazawa who last year was pitching in the Industrial League, the Japanese minors. Nick Swisher homered off reliever Daniel Bard as the Yankees avoided a shut-out. Kevin Youkilis was the hitting star with two home runs and 6 RBIs. Sox also got homers from Alex Gonzalez and David Ortiz The Red Sox were 7 for 11 with RISP. Amazingly 13 of their 14 runs scored after two were out.

Final Score: Boston 14 New York 1
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 5

Sunday August 23

This game was ghastly and a huge disappointment for Red Sox fans as Josh Beckett allowed 5 home runs for the first time in his stellar career. Derek Jeter hit the first pitch Beckett threw for a homer to right field. Matsui had two solo homers, Cano had one and Rodriguez had a two run homer. The advertised pitcher’s duel between two 14 game winners never materialized as CC Sabathia did not have his best stuff. Sox had 4R on 8H in Sabathia’s 6.2IP. As the Yankees return to NY they are now 7 1/2 games ahead of the Sox who are in second place with 39 games remaining in the regular season.

Final Score: New York 8 Boston 4
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 5 with 3 K’s

Games 102 -104 – Weekend Sweep in Baltimore

Friday July 31

The Red Sox gave John Smoltz a three run lead which he gave back in the 3rd inning. Sox go up one in the fifth but the Orioles get two more runs off Smoltz in the 6th inning on an Aubrey Huff two run homer. In the Red Sox 7th Youk answered with a two run shot. Ramirez, Okajima and Papelbon contributed three scoreless innings as the Sox take the opener. John Smoltz has not impressed as his ERA is 7.12 and he is not locating his fast ball. Patience may be getting thin in Red Sox Nation.

Final Score: Sox 6 O’s 5
Jacoby Watch: 3 for 5 with 2R , an RBI and a SB

Saturday August 1

This game belonged to Josh Beckett as he was brilliant. Through seven shutout innings he allowed 6H and had 5 K’s. The Orioles were 0 for 7 with RISP. Pedey and Youk both had solo homers with Youk going 4 for 4 as he is out of his recent slump. Victor Martinez had his first game as a Red Sox and contributed an RBI. He came to Boston at the trading deadline from Cleveland for Justin Masterson and two minor leaguers. Rookie Josh Reddick up from AA ball started the game in RF and moved to LF when Jason Bay left with an injury. He had two doubles in four at bats. Okajima and Bard each had a scoreless inning as the bullpen continues to shine.

Final Score: Sox 4 O’s 0
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 5 with 1R, 1BB and a SB his 48th of the year


Sunday August 2

Today’s game was a major slugfest as the Sox scored a season high 18 runs including seven over the first three innings. J.D. Drew had a bases clearing double in the 1st innings driving in three runs. After he scored on a single by Mike Lowell he left the game with a groin injury. The news for Clay Buchholz was not pretty as he gave the Orioles six runs in the 3rd inning to bring them within a run. The Sox then scored a whopping seven runs in the 4th inning with Josh Reddick and Victor Martinez both contributing run scoring hits. In fact Martinez was 5 for 6 with 1R and 4 RBI’s as he is off to a great start for the Sox. Buchholtz now with an eight run lead could not survive the 5th inning as Adam Jones led off with a homer and Buch was lifted with two on and none out. Among the 23 hits for the Sox Youk was 3 for 4, Pedey and Lowell were both 3 for 5. Ortiz 0 for 5 was the only one to go hitless.

Final Score: Sox 18 O’s 10
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 5 with 4R and 2BB

Games 85-88 Red Sox Take 3 of 4 from Royals

Thursday – July 9

The final series before the All Star break had an auspicious beginning. Brad Penny left after five innings and a 97 pitch count with a two run lead. Delcarmen and Masterson each gave up 2 runs in the 6th and the Sox found themselves down 7-5. The bullpen, a major plus all season has been a bit shaky of late. Perhaps some time off will help – let’s hope. Pedroia had 3 hits including a homer and continues his hot hitting. Ortiz had a two run homer in the 1st and continues to try to make his slump a thing of the past.

Final Score: KC 8 Boston 6
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4 with a K and 3 LOB while batting 6th in the lineup

Friday – July 10

This game was the polar opposite of yesterday’s as Jon Lester dominated the Royals with 0R, 4H, and 8K’s over eight innings and 115 pitches. Brian Bannister pitched brilliantly through 7 innings until the Sox finally broke through for a run in the 8th. Mark Kotsay led off with a single; Nick Green laid down a sacrifice bunt with two strikes on him and the bunt sign off – gutsy. Dustin Pedroia’s two out double brought in what was ultimately the only run of the game. Jonathan Papelbon had a 1,2,3 ninth for his 23rd save.

Final Score: Boston 1 KC 0

Jacoby Watch: 1 for 2 with a SB - Ellsbury was ejected by the HP ump in the 5th inning after being called out at home on a play in which he appeared safe on the replay.

Saturday – July 11

This game was a serious slug-fest. It started off one-sided as the Sox jumped to a 9-1 lead after five innings. Youk led the way with two homers and 4 RBI’s , Tek had a solo homer and Big Papi a two run homer. John Smoltz left after the 5th and watched as the Sox pen gave up 5 runs in the 6th, another in the 7th and two more in the 8th. It was shades of the O’s game in which they overcame a nine run Sox lead and won 11-10 on June 30th. This time the Sox managed to add on with three runs in both the 7th and 8th innings. Daniel Bard did restore some order as he pitched two innings gave up one run and had 3 SO. Saito had a scoreless 9th.

Final Score: Boston 15 KC 9
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 3 with 2R, 1 RBI and a BB

Sunday – July 12

The Red Sox ended this homestand with a 6-4 record as they recorded a win today. Josh Beckett was dominant as he pitched a complete game shutout giving KC only 3 hits and striking out 7 . His ERA is now 3.35. This game featured Beckett’s 100th win and 1st baseman Aaron Bates’s first ML hit. He had 3 hits today along with 1R and 1 RBI. This win was a great way to end the ‘first half’ of the season as five Red Sox players, Youk, Bay, Paps, Beckett and Wake head for the All Star game. Pedey was voted by the fans as the 2nd base starter but he declined opting to stay with his pregnant wife who is hospitalized – very understandable and not a decision taken lightly. Pedey has a great deal of respect for the game but knew his place was with his wife.

Final Score: Boston 6 KC 0
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4 with 1R and 4 LOB while batting lead off

Here are Ellsbury’s stats as we head for the second half of the season:
83 G, 333 AB, .297 Avg, 99 H, 13 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 23 BB, 33 SO, 40 SB and an OBP of .347

Games 49-51 - Sox Avoid the Sweep in Toronto

Friday May 29

Tim Wakefield is in one of his ‘bad streaks’ with 4.2 IP, 6R and 9H. The Red Sox with 11 hits had one more than the Blue Jays but 3 less runs. Toronto broke a 9 game losing skid with this victory. One bright spot was the relief pitching of Daniel Bard with 2.1 IP 0R, 0H and 5K’s – impressive.

Final Score: Jays 6 Sox 3
Jacoby Watch: 2 for 5 with 2RBI’s

Saturday May 30

Brad Penny continues to be a very serviceable pitcher for the Sox. Today he went 6 innings giving up 2ER and recording 5K’s. With the score tied 3-3 in the 7th inning Ramon Ramirez in relief of Penny had his first bad outing as these stats attest - 0.2IP 2R and 3H enabling Toronto to grab the lead. Rocco Baldelli had a two-run homer but had to leave later in the game with a contusion on his knee as he slid hard into the stands along right field trying in vain to record an out. Baldelli’s luck seems to be all bad since as soon as he returns to the line-up he’s out again. Sox hitting woes on the road continue. David Ortiz’s slump hits epic proportions as today he was 0 for 4 with 2K’s and his BA is now .185 – dreadful!

Final Score: Jays 5 Sox 3
Jacoby Watch: 0 for 4 as his 22 game hitting streak comes to an end


Sunday May 31

The Boston bats woke up as the Sox had 8R on 11H. The big blow was a three-run homer in the 4th off the bat of Dustin Pedroia, his first since opening day. Youkilis had two solo homers going back to back with Jason Bay in the 8th inning. Red Sox manager, Terry Francona, shook up the line-up with Pedey batting lead off followed by Drew, Youk, Bay, Lowell, Ortiz, Tek, Ellsbury and Green. Sox starter Jon Lester had a dominating performance and is hopefully back to his ‘old self’. He pitched 6 innings of 1R 3H ball while recording 12K’s as all his pitches were working especially the curve ball. While avoiding getting swept in Toronto the Sox are now 3 and 4 on this road trip as they head for Detroit where the Tigers are playing good ball. Worth noting is the fact that the Red Sox sacrificed twice in this game, their first successful sacrifices of the year, as they were the last MLB team to execute a sacrifice.

Final Score: Sox 8 Jays 2
Jacoby Watch: 1 for 3 with a BB

Photo is after Rocco Baldelli's second home run in a Red Sox uniform.